READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES

Today’s students and teachers are under increasing pressure to show early progress and success in reading. Not all of this can be attributed to a desire to increase standardized test scores, as some may fear; it also has to do with a concern that kids will be “left behind” if they are not reading independently by at least third grade. This situation often leads to intervention as a strategy for boosting the skills of slow or reluctant readers. But is intervention a one-dimensional tool?

In recent years, the practice of intervention—where a trained reading specialist provides small-group or personalized instruction to students considered to be behind the curve—has been elevated to must-have status. In 2010, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan even listed early literacy intervention (done before students reach third or fourth grade) as a key high school dropout prevention strategy. Many students require early intervention as they find their way to literacy. This support often includes phonics lessons so that children can explicitly learn how to decode words. For some students, such as non-native English speakers, this can be an essential survival skill.

Beyond phonics, there are key intervention strategies that do not necessarily isolate students from one another by sorting them into leveled groups. For example, choral reading is a much-loved way to get the whole class reading along together, which may help less confident readers learn to recognize frequently used words in a more relaxed and community-based manner. A 2014 post in the online journal Edutopia, “11 Alternatives to 'Round Robin' (and 'Popcorn') Reading,” shares a variety of other ways to make learning to read a shared activity. A few highlights include

Yulibeth Ramirez

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